Bicycles are very useful for humans and good for the environment. Moreover, they help humans stay fit.
Having a bicycle in a large city however may not be as convenient as it seems for various reasons. For instance, it might be complicated to store temporarily the bicycle, such as for instance when a user reaches an intended destination, or permanently, such as for instance when the user brings back his bicycle home. This may discourage potential users from having and using a bicycle.
Some manufacturers have provided systems for renting bicycles that may be installed at various locations in a given city. For instance, Squire et al. have disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,917,407 a system for renting bicycles.
Unfortunately, while the use of such system may be very attractive for an end-user, the operator managing such system may be faced with various serious challenges.
For instance, an end user may rent a bicycle at a first location and desire to drop the bicycle at another location. Some locations may therefore become overfilled with bicycles while some other locations may become depleted in bicycles. The system may therefore become de-balanced and the operator may be faced with the issue of having to transfer bicycles from one location to another to rebalance the system which is a drawback since it adds operation costs and therefore reduces profits.
Moreover, such systems for renting bicycles may become cumbersome to operate and manage in cities where weather conditions are harsh such as for instance in Montreal.
Moreover, in case of a failure of some of the components, such system may require a technician on site to check and repair the defective component which may also be problematic since it may interrupt the normal operation of the whole system.
It will also be appreciated that the system may be complicated to use in the case of special, temporary outdoor events.
There is therefore a need for a method and apparatus that will overcome at least one of the above-identified drawbacks.